Mumbai Airport: Flight Operations Resume at CSMIA After 6 Hours of Maintenance Work

Aimed at providing seamless flight operations and the utmost standards of passenger safety, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) effectively concluded its post-monsoon runway maintenance.

The maintenance work conducted on October 17 took place between 11am and 5pm on both runways – RWY 09/27 and RWY 14/32. After six hours of work, the CSMIA resumed its operations as usual. This yearly practice of runway maintenance work is undertaken to enhance the operational efficiency of the airport.

A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was also duly issued six months in advance with airlines and other stakeholders to ensure flight schedules were planned ahead of time causing no inconvenience to passengers. The maintenance work is part of the airport’s monsoon contingency plan, which has been devised to respond to and mitigate any possible issues that might have been caused during the monsoon season in the city.

As part of its maintenance work, the CSMIA undertook the installation of runway edge lights for portion of intersection of runway 14/32, trenching work for laying underground cables for segregation of AGL (Aeronautical ground lights) near the beginning of runway 09, validation of strength of RESA (runway end safety area) for runway 09 and RESA for runway 27 and repair of cracks, disjoints, damaged surface, especially close to runway intersection. A separate team closely inspected over 5000 aeronautical lights installed, to check for wear and tear. Drain pits and chambers along the runway strip, cables critical for lighting, IT, and navigational aids were also inspected.

With a flight movement of over 930 flights each day, CSMIA, year-on-year, ensures operational continuity, timely check, and repair work on the runways to restore its health. Specialists in engineering and airside teams inspect the runway surface for micro texture and macro texture wear and tear, and signs of distress – these are attended to in the scheduled closures of runways 09/27 and runway 14/32 at different intervals in a week.